This month’s Equity Resource recommendation comes from former Tangletown board president, long-time Tangletown resident and volunteer, and current member of both Tangletown’s Equity and Environmental committees, Pat:
In The Minneapolis Reckoning by Michelle S. Phelps, Phelps takes a deep dive into Minneapolis’s recent history of policing and public safety, especially in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and the upheavals following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. She traces how progressive reform efforts clashed with on-the-ground realities of violence, structural inequality, and political resistance. The book doesn’t just focus on the single moment of 2020—it draws on decades of organizing, protest, and policy change that led up to and followed that moment.
Phelps examines the 2021 ballot initiative that would have eliminated the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and replaced it with a public safety department grounded more in public health and alternatives to policing. Although the measure failed, the book demonstrates how the impetus behind it altered the conversation about safety, accountability, and reform.
Key Issues for Minneapolis residents:
- Dual nature of policing: Phelps emphasizes how, for many, police are both a source of protection and a threat. This ambivalence is especially strong in neighborhoods where crime and police violence both loom large.
- Limits of reform versus aspiration for transformation: The book highlights the distinction between reforms that modify existing systems and those that aim for more profound transformation (or even replacement).
- The role of everyday people & organizers: Phelps demonstrates how community organizers, residents, and local leaders contributed to shaping the momentum for change—not just prominent political figures. For neighborhoods like ours, it emphasizes what citizens can do, even when broader structural change is slow.
Why It Matters
For our neighborhood, The Minneapolis Reckoning offers more than history—it provides context. Understanding the political, social, and economic factors behind policing debates helps sharpen how we think about safety, justice, and community in Tangletown and Minneapolis as a whole. The book also invites reflection: What forms of safety do our neighbors truly want, and how can we participate in, or support, the preferred alternatives?